Elly Grant

Undergraduate Fellow

“I think I've always really loved plants, probably because my grandmother used to run a greenhouse. She was a florist by trade, so I have to assume it's in my blood.

Once I got to WashU, I would pass the greenhouse every day. I would look in and wish that I could work there, but I didn't really know how to get a job there and I was too shy to ask. I was like, ‘Can I just sweep the floors? Like anything.’ When I signed up for Rachel's lab, I was so excited that I could get a chance to go into the greenhouse.

I've ended up spending a lot of time in there. There's all sorts of cool plant collections — people's Sundews and Venus fly traps and ancient succulents that are like a billion years old.”

Elly worked with Rachel Penczykowski's Plant Disease team during summer 2019. Learn more about their host-pathogen coevolution research here.